Former Miner VB great comes back for camp

Tuesday

Jul 2, 2013 at 2:08 PMJul 2, 2013 at 5:26 PM

Bill Choy

A former Yreka Miner great has come back to town to pass along her volleyball skills to the next generation of players.Shelly Smith, a 1990 Yreka graduate, is considered one of the best, if not the best, volleyball players to have played at the school.She went on to an outstanding career at Oregon State, where she was the Beavers' all-time kills leaders and played the sport professionally in Sweden. For around five years, Smith has come back in the summer to coach a volleyball camp. The camp features players from fifth to eighth grade and those in high school. The two-day event, which began on Monday at the high school big gym, is a fundraiser for the Yreka High volleyball program.It's important for her to come back, she said, to help the players improve their skills in the sport and do her part to help teach them what she has learned over the years. Smith said that she had a number of great mentors and coaches when she was growing up here and is glad to be a mentor herself for those that take part in the camp.Smith now lives in the Portland, Ore., area and is a school teacher.Working with the youngest group Monday afternoon, Smith talked to the girls before having them do a ball-control drill."I'm not going to do something you're good at," she said. "I'm going to challenge you."Smith told the players that learning something that might be a challenge to them will be a great benefit to them when they start playing volleyball again this fall."You're going to get better and better," she said. Participant Catherine Downey said that it's a great experience to learn from someone like Smith. When asked what she enjoyed about it, Downey gave a shy smile and replied "everything."Miners' head varsity volleyball coach Scott Eastman is ecstatic to have someone of Smith's credentials coaching at the camp. And, he said, it's nice to have a former Yreka Miner like Smith come back to her hometown and give back.